Special Issue on Energy in Smart Infrastructures: Storage and Utilizations

Abstract

Over the past few decades, depleting energy resources has become a primary concern pertaining to the sustainability of our planet. In addition, climate change and its cascading effects are showing up in the form of extreme, unusual, and unpredictable weather patterns. Engineering and technological innovations must explicitly address these issues to make our planet more sustainable. Along these lines, smart infrastructures have been conceptualized and designed that take into consideration various environmental metrics – starting from energy and power consumption minimization to climate-friendly designs and operations. These smart infrastructures are characterized by the following elements: (i) Internet-of-Things, where a network of sensors and actuators are placed in an intelligent manner to enable a broader view and control of overall operation; (ii) connectivity among various stakeholders via advanced communication technologies; (iii) autonomy to reduce direct human intervention and reduce human-error related safety issues; and finally; and (iv) feedback-based decision-making to operate the overall system in a more environmental-friendly and efficient manner.